Alignment of surfaces is a perennial problem in a variety of fields, ranging from construction to interior decorating. Alignment is necessary for walls that should be perpendicular to a floor, or otherwise plumb. Masonry and brick-laying practitioners are well aware of the importance of plumbed and aligned surfaces and chalk lines. A home interior decorated with pictures and other wall ornamentation makes a much better appearance when the ornamentation is aligned, especially with respect to vertical or horizontal alignment. Many mechanical and electrical alignment devices are available, and some laser devices are available. Some of these products are cumbersome, others are not as useful as they could be. Chalk lines, for instance, are sometimes undesirable for use in finished, interior areas.
One aspect of alignment-product performance, and in particular of laser-alignment products, that could be improved is the width, brightness and straightness of the laser light. A visible, straight laser line is acceptable, but may be limited in its brightness over a distance, and may also tend to defocus and become dimmer as a user works away from the source of the laser. Rotating lasers are used to project lines on walls perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the laser. Thus, such devices may have limited utility or may not work in confined spaces requiring a longer alignment tool.
Moreover, a conventional laser is not well-equipped for projecting a flat or planar beam of light. The essence of laser light is that it is coherent or substantially monochromatic, that is, of a single wavelength or a narrow wavelength band. Thus, when a beam of laser light is refracted through a prism, the prism output is not a spreading of the beam as with ordinary xe2x80x9cwhitexe2x80x9d light, but rather a coherent, focused beam, very similar to the input. The laser beam is thin and is usefully only visible when projected onto a surface.
Another aspect that could be improved is the inability of laser devices to work around obstructions. That is, if a wall-hanging, such as a picture frame, interrupts the laser beam, it may be blocked from further projection. Therefore, it is necessary to mark locations or heights, one by one, rather than working with the actual objects, in order to align them. Obstructions may include moldings placed in a doorway, picture frames in the way of those being aligned on one horizontal line, the operator of the device, other obstacles, or even textured or stuccoed surfaces on interior walls.
There are devices that direct a laser beam parallel to but away from a surface requiring alignment. A marker device or detector component is then used to sight the beam and mark corresponding locations on the wall adjacent the beam. Use of such a device requires multiple components and at least two people, one to align the laser and another to mark the wall. Moreover, the wall itself requires marking with this method.
A conventional laser beam projector is thus not able to project a laser line on the wall on which it is mounted, nor can it go around obstructions. A laser alignment beam mounting on the wall where alignment is needed would allow a person seeking alignment, whether a carpenter, a painter, or an interior decorator, to accomplish his or her task in a quicker and easier fashion. The ability to work around obstacles would save much time and effort. Finally, such laser alignment devices must be aligned themselves, and are typically equipped with a tripod and a sophisticated leveling device so that they read true for horizontal and vertical plumbs. While leveling is necessary, such sophistication as a tripod adds to the expense and bulkiness of the leveling device. What is desired is a convenient, easy-to-level laser device useful for aligning objects.
One embodiment of the invention is a laser line generating device. The line generating device includes a housing. Within the housing are mounted a light source and a power supply connected to the light source. There is a projection lens that receives light and projects the light in the shape of a fan. There is also at least one reference level on an outside of the housing. The light is projected substantially along its direction of propagation onto the wall on which it is mounted. Another embodiment is a line generating device. The line generating device includes a housing and a light source mounted within the housing. There is a power supply connected to the light source, and there is a projection lens that receives light and projects the light in a direction of propagation in the shape of an elongated fan that substantially lies within a plane that is oriented at an angle with respect to the direction of propagation.
Another embodiment is a method for projecting a fan-shaped laser light onto a surface. The method includes focusing a light into a fan shape that substantially lies within a plane, and projecting the fan-shaped light in a direction of propagation that is oriented at an angle with respect to the plane. Another embodiment is a line generating device. The line generating device includes a housing and a light source mounted within the housing. Within the housing there is also an optical system that receives light and projects the light as a fan-shaped beam that lies substantially within a plane and forms a visible line at an intersection of the beam and a surface of interest. Another embodiment is a lens for receiving and projecting light. The lens includes an optical material, and has at least one corner radiused from about 0.030 to about 0.060 inches. The lens is adapted to receive light and to transmit light in a fan-shaped beam.
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.